Partial Sixth Nerve Palsy Resulting from Spinal Anaesthesia – A Case Study

L.A.Jones, DipAppSc(Cumb), DOBA
R.J.Armstrong, MB BS(Melb), FRACO, FRACS

Sixth nerve palsies have been reported following spinal anaesthesia these are rare and often incomplete. A 36 year old woman presented with a severe headache and diplopia after delivery of her second child for which she underwent two attempted spinal anaesthesia. A sixth nerve palsy had developed ten days after the delivery and resolved by the fourteenth week.
Mechanical theories present the most plausible explanations for the cause of the sixth nerve palsy. However, none of the theories adequately explain why the palsy is more likely to occur unilaterally than bilaterally.